The vertical tier is a centred band crop of the SAME 1920x1080 master (band x
656.25, w 607.5, h 1080), so the 16:9 camera placement (x~1408) falls outside the
cropped window and the creator is simply not in the vertical stream. Each scene
now keeps its own vertical position, size and shape; switching back to 16:9
restores the desktop layout exactly (the creator's locked table, 2026-10-17).
Geometry only - NO render-path change. The preview and the compositor both read
the element's own X/Y/W/H + ClipShape, so the tier switch swaps the LIVE geometry:
- Models/VerticalCameraLayout.cs (new): the pure math - the band, its two 607x540
areas, the six spots (top/bottom x left/centre/right), the 32px inset and the
270x152 default tile (480x270 in the 1080x1920 output) in the bottom-right spot,
the corner the 16:9 default webcam uses.
- Models/WebcamSceneConfig.cs: the vertical placement lives in seven additive
columns (VerticalX/Y/Width/Height/ClipShape/RectWidth/RectHeight; NULL = "this
scene has no vertical placement yet"). The 16:9 layout stays in the old columns
and is parked in the transient Landscape* fields while the vertical tier is
live; Begin/EndVerticalLayout + CommitLiveLayoutToVertical do the swap. The
X/Y/W/H overrides clamp every write into the band - outside it the camera is
invisible in the vertical output.
- Models/SceneElement.cs: X/Y/Width/Height became virtual so the derived element
constrains every writer (drag, resize handle, typed fields) in ONE choke point
instead of three writers each re-implementing the rule.
- ViewModels/MainViewModel.Webcam.cs + .Streaming.cs: IsVerticalTier/VerticalBand,
ResolveVerticalCameraLayout(s) (the tier swap), MoveWebcamInVerticalTier /
SnapWebcamInVerticalTier (the six-spot snap, by the tile's centre),
EnsureVerticalCameraLayout; ApplyStreamQuality is the tier-change hook. The
Live scene gets its small tile automatically on the first vertical switch (the
vertical stream would otherwise have no camera at all); the other scenes keep
their 16:9 placement until the creator drags them into the band.
- Controls/PreviewPane.xaml.cs: the drag/resize route through the VM snap under
the vertical tier instead of free-floating over the master.
Controls/LeftPanel.xaml: the webcam properties gained a Geometry section
(X/Y/W/H) for the manual entry the creator asked for, bound to the LIVE
placement, gated on the VM's IsWebcamSelected (NOT SelectedElement.IsWebcam -
the TASK 51 test finds that panel by binding text and would match twice).
- The store: seven guarded ADD COLUMNs, the INSERT/SELECT extended, and the
X/Y/W/H/ClipShape columns stay the 16:9 layout - while the vertical tier is
live the save writes the parked values there and the live ones into Vertical*.
Test: ytLive.Tests/VerticalWebcamLayoutTests.cs - the ONE Good Dog test. The
vertical tier brings the Live camera INTO the band as a small tile; dragging it to
the top-right lands it top-right inside the band; back to 16:9 the desktop layout
is restored exactly (1408/778/480x270); both placements survive a save + reload.
Full suite 429/429, 0 warnings. LayerReorderPersistenceTests.RealMouseDrag fails
ALONE on a clean tree in this environment - pre-existing flake, proven by stashing
this work, not a regression.
Derivative work: OBS has no built-in per-aspect-ratio layout storage - the
maintainers' answer is "create a second scene and add the scene you want to send
as source" (obsproject.com/forum/threads/161307) - and Streamyard's dual-aspect
guide says the same ("no built-in way to store separate layouts per aspect ratio",
so you rely on manual workarounds and plugins):
https://streamyard.com/blog/dual-aspect-ratio-streaming-tool
Our per-scene, per-tier stored placement, resolved on the tier change, is the
step past both.
Memory in the same commit: ai.md (new section), TASKS.md + TASKS/task-57-*.md
(Unit 1 shipped, Unit 2 = the Chat scene still open), HANDOFF.md, MyMistakes.md
(the per-tier geometry-swap recipe, the binding-text panel trap, the store's
webcam-identity rule) and the Models/Services/ViewModels/Controls index rows.
LlamaCasty
A free, open-source Windows app for streaming live to YouTube and recording to your PC. Native Windows (C# / WPF / .NET 8). Website: https://llamacasty.com
Why I built it
I'm Gramps. I've been gaming since 1981, and these days I stream The Division 2 on YouTube.
When I started streaming, I did what everybody does: I installed the big, general-purpose streaming tools. They're excellent software — powerful, flexible, and built to handle every platform, every camera rig, and every plugin anyone has ever dreamed up. That breadth is exactly what makes them great, and it's also what makes them a lot to learn. Before my first stream I was reading setup guides, picking encoders, balancing audio by hand, and wiring up scenes from scratch. The tools were ready for anything. I just wanted to go live.
Most streamers I talk to are in the same spot. They don't need a tool for every platform and every setup — they need one that's ready for theirs. So I built LlamaCasty around three choices:
- One platform, done properly. LlamaCasty streams to YouTube and only YouTube. That focus lets it be built around how YouTube Live actually works — your channel, your chat, Super Chats and memberships, Shorts-style vertical video, and the YouTube Partner Program — instead of treating YouTube as one destination among many.
- Ready the moment you open it. Five scenes (Starting, Live, BRB, Chat, Ending) are set up, your game and voice are balanced with auto-ducking and voice polish built in, and YouTube's settings are filled in. You arrange things by dragging them, then press Go Live.
- Calm while you're live. A private Test Stream to practice, a layout that locks while you're on air, and warnings only when YouTube reports a real problem.
The general-purpose tools are the right choice when you need everything. LlamaCasty is for when you just want to get your show on air.
Free, and staying that way
LlamaCasty is free forever: no watermark, no branding on your stream, no subscription, no LlamaCasty account. It's also open source (see License) — enjoy it, explore it, experiment with it. If it earns a spot in your setup and you'd like to say thanks, there's a coffee jar and a merch store linked from https://llamacasty.com. Completely optional, never expected, and the app will never ask.
How it's built
LlamaCasty is built through AI-assisted pair programming, under the direction of a developer with decades of experience. Architecture, product direction, and quality gates are human-owned; AI speeds up the implementation. The repo's memory map (below) is how that collaboration stays honest from one session to the next.
Requirements
- 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. (The bundled FFmpeg and ONNX Runtime are 64-bit only.)
- A YouTube channel, to stream. LlamaCasty links an existing channel with "Sign in with Google" — it doesn't create accounts. Recording to an .mp4 works without signing in.
- Working sound in Windows. Desktop and game audio come from your default output automatically; you choose your mic in the app. LlamaCasty doesn't diagnose or repair Windows audio — if it doesn't sound right in Windows, fix it there first.
Build from source
The internal project, assembly, and namespace names are still ytLive (the app was renamed to
LlamaCasty; the internals weren't). Building needs Windows and the .NET 8 SDK.
-
Fetch the bundled FFmpeg (not in git — ~135 MB, pinned and SHA-256-verified):
scripts/fetch-ffmpeg.sh -
Add your own Google OAuth client.
Helpers/OAuthCredentials.csis gitignored. Create a "Desktop app" OAuth client with the YouTube Data API v3 enabled in Google Cloud Console, then:namespace ytLive.Helpers; public static class OAuthCredentials { public const string ClientId = "your-client-id.apps.googleusercontent.com"; public const string ClientSecret = "your-client-secret"; } -
Build and run:
dotnet build ytLive.csproj dotnet run --project ytLive.csproj
Version roadmap
v1 is the finished product (no v1.x releases are planned). Everything still in the queue lands
in v1; anything not on the feature list is on the "Out of product — permanently" list in
TASKS.md — read that before asking for a feature.
What v1 ships: the five-scene control surface, webcam + screen capture, media + web + text sources, chat on stream, the social bar, mic/desktop audio with auto-ducking and TRAX background music, local recording, quality tiers including vertical 9:16, one-click go-live + scheduling, stream resilience, monetization awareness (YPP tracker), animated alerts, and webcam background removal and blur — all free and ungated.
Structure
| Path | Role |
|---|---|
Models/ |
Scene, Source, WebcamSceneConfig, SceneElement, SceneCatalog, QualityOption, StreamConfig/Health, chat, Socials, BroadcastMetadata, Music, MicStatus, BackgroundEffect |
ViewModels/ |
MainViewModel (partial classes per area) + dialogs: GoLive, CameraPicker, MicPicker, HotkeyConfig, Socials, LiveBroadcastForm |
Services/ |
YouTube (OAuth, streams/broadcasts, chat polling), LayoutStore (SQLite), capture (camera/screen-capture/media-file via FFmpeg), SceneCompositor + FramePump, FFmpeg encoder + RTMP, audio pipeline (WASAPI loopback + mic, mixer, filters, ducker, limiter, TRAX), background effects (ONNX person segmentation), SocialValidator, notifications, hotkeys, SceneGraph, ChatOverlayLayer |
Helpers/ |
ViewModelBase, RelayCommand, ImageCache, AppLog, TokenStore (DPAPI), OAuthCredentials (gitignored), converters |
Themes/ |
Controls.xaml — the dark-theme control styles, merged once in App.xaml |
MainWindow.xaml |
Dark-theme control surface: thumbnails + central preview, two-state left panel (layers/properties ↔ live chat), top bar, footer |
tools/ |
Offline helper tools (e.g. selfie-seg/ — converts and verifies the background-effects model) |
Docs (memory map)
schema.md defines the conventions; ai.md is the AI/session guide; TASKS.md is the task
queue; HANDOFF.md is the current state. Each code directory carries an index.md.
License
LlamaCasty is free software, released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later
(LICENSE) with three additional terms permitted by GPL-3.0 section 7
(ADDITIONAL-TERMS.md):
- Keep the credit — any copy, modified or not, shows "Based on LlamaCasty by Gramps — https://llamacasty.com" in its About screen.
- Rename your fork — modified versions are marked as modified and use a different name.
- No trademark rights — the LlamaCasty name and llama logo aren't licensed. The icon and logo files are all rights reserved and aren't covered by the GPL.
The scene backgrounds and default alert video are AI-generated placeholders, licensed with the
code — replace them with your own. Bundled third-party components keep their own licenses: see
THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt.
Source code: https://llgit.llamachile.tube/gramps/LlamaCasty

